by Christine Trent | Jan 24, 2019 | Historical Trivia
I recently had the great joy of seeing They Shall Not Grow Old in the movie theatre. Have you seen it? Director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) took old World War I footage from the Imperial War Museum and worked some magic with it—slowing down and smoothing out the...
by Christine Trent | May 10, 2017 | Historical Trivia
The Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign, from June 20, 1837 until her death on January 22, 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, “refined sensibilities,” and national self-confidence for the United Kingdom. In Violet...
by Christine Trent | Apr 12, 2017 | Historical Trivia
The distinctive Victorian style of layout for advertisements showcased extreme variations of type size and weight, all crammed within the page format, was an invention of expedience, allowing the printer to utilize every inch of precious space. Another distinction...
by Christine Trent | Feb 16, 2017 | Historical Trivia
With the recent release of the Queen Victoria miniseries on PBS there has been an increased interest in Her Majesty. The Lady of Ashes fans are familiar from reading about Violet Harper’s acquaintance with Her Majesty that the Queen has many thoughts, spanning many...
by Christine Trent | Dec 1, 2016 | Historical Trivia
William Ewart Gladstone was born December 29, 1809, and became prime minister for the first time on December 9, 1868, just before his 59th birthday. He would enter parliament for the fourth and last time in 1892, at the age of 82! Prior to his election as prime...
by Christine Trent | Nov 15, 2016 | Historical Trivia
The entire plot basis for A GRAVE CELEBRATION was the opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The canal was the brainchild of Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805—1894), a Frenchman with a varied and distinguished diplomatic career before successfully completing a...
